It was a shocking and gruesome discovery : three dead infants found in a Massachusetts home so squalid that police officers had to search it in hazmat suits .

Now , days later , as investigators continue to search through what the Worcester County District Attorney 's Office describes as the home 's `` deplorable conditions -LRB- such as -RRB- massive insect infestation , mounds of used diapers and feces , '' a picture is beginning to emerge of the family that lived inside .

And it 's a picture so deranged , so unfathomable to a reasonable mind , that even a lawyer for the accused calls the situation `` completely inexplicable . ''

Erika Murray was arraigned September 12 on a bevy of charges stemming from the discovery of the dead infants at her home the day before , but she has not been charged in their deaths . The 31-year-old pleaded not guilty to charges of concealing an out of wedlock fetal death , two counts of permitting substantial injury to a child , intimidation of a witness , cruelty to an animal and violating an abuse prevention order , according to Tim Connolly , a district attorney spokesman .

Whether or not Murray is the mother is not known by authorities for certain at this point , but her attorney assumes that she is . `` My expectation is that it will be confirmed that they were indeed hers , '' Keith Halpern told CNN .

Murray lived in the now-condemned single family home with her longtime boyfriend , Ray Rivera , and the couple 's children . Just how many children lived with them in the vermin-infested 1,150-square-foot home , however , depends on which parent you ask : of the four living children that the state removed from the home on August 28 , Murray told investigators that Rivera , 38 , only knew about two of them .

The other two -- a 3 year old and an infant , according to Halpern -- were apparently not only born in secret but lived hidden from their father amid mountains of garbage under the same roof .

Rivera also `` presumably '' did not know about the ones that had died , at least according to the account Murray has told authorities , Halpern said .

`` It is a mystery to me how Mr. Rivera could have failed to notice -LRB- the -RRB- numerous pregnancies -LRB- of -RRB- the woman with whom he shared a bed , '' said Halpern . `` It 's a mystery to me how he could have failed to realize that there were two children living under the same roof as him , and he did n't know about it . ''

CNN was unable to reach Rivera or members of his family Sunday evening . He has not been charged with any crime , and there is no public record of physical abuse .

` Prisoner of her own fear '

Halpern said that while his client 's explanation `` is not based in reality , '' the situation Murray came to be in was the result of fear , not malice . `` She was terrified of the pregnancies being discovered , '' said Halpern . `` She was terrified of the two younger children being discovered . Why ? I do n't know the answer to that . ''

Whether based in reality or not , Halpern said Murray was `` a prisoner of her own fear '' and suggested it was that fear that explains the three infants found dead in her home . `` Try to imagine the state of mind of a woman who attempts to hide a pregnancy , go into labor and deliver children -- at least twice , but presumably five times -- on her own . ''

`` I feel certain that she did not do anything to harm any of these children , '' he said . `` I do n't think there will be a determination that they were killed . ''

Though Halpern said he has yet to consult with a pathologist , he said it is not clear if they were ever alive to begin with or if they were all stillborn .

Abuse suspected in 2007

The state 's removal of the four living children at the home last month was the result of the filing of what 's called a 51A report in Massachusetts , according to Alec Loftus , a spokesman for the state 's office of Health and Human Services . A 51A can be filed by any citizen with reason to believe that a child has been abused or neglected .

This was not the first time a 51A had been filed when it came to that home , according to a Massachusetts Department of Children and Families spokeswoman . Cayenne Isaksen said such a report was previously received in 2007 , but that `` it was unsupported and therefore no case was opened . ''

For now , Isaksen said DCF has Murray 's four children in its care and is focused on `` ensuring -LRB- their -RRB- safety and well-being and providing them with the proper medical care , support and services they need , '' she said . Connolly said that the family caring for them has no public statement to make at this time .

Murray 's case was adjourned to October 14 . Investigators , meanwhile , remain at the scene digging through the squalor .

`` Our investigation will continue for quite some time , '' said Joseph Early , the Worcester County District Attorney .

Dad accused of slaying five kids had history with social services

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Lawyer says squalor concealed children from father for years

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Lawyer for the woman arrested says she is the mother

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Three infants were discovered dead in squalid Massachusetts home

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Police had to search the house in hazmat suits